English Tea Murder

May 2, 2011
In Meier's sprightly 17th Lucy Stone mystery (after 2010's Wicked Witch Murder), the intrepid Tinker's Cove, Maine, reporter joins a tour group sponsored by Winchester College for her first trip overseas. Soon after the group's plane departs Boston for London, their affable guide, Winchester professor George Temple, dies of an apparent asthma attack, but the plane continues across the Atlantic. When attractive Quentin Rea, a former English professor of Lucy's, replaces Temple as the group leader at short notice, Lucy is dismayed to find the incorrigible flirt still smooth talking the ladies. Meanwhile, Lucy senses that others on the tour, despite their nonchalance, have something to hide. Eventually, Lucy realizes that everyone had a reason to want Temple dead. Though patches of travelogue tend to overshadow the mystery solving, the unusual ending will leave readers much to debate.